Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 11 Oct 22
Vasilia Sidkorolyavolkva is a Lycan royal who has been raised knowing she’s a life mate to a Carpathian male. She’s a kickass heroine who has been raised to battle and vanquish demons and heal the earth. Afanasiv is an ancient Carpathian who, along with a few of his unmated brethren, is in search of his life mate. For an ancient, Siv has a wonderfully modern attitude toward his mate and what a true partnership between mates entails. While some things remain the same as other stories in this series, there’s a lot of new to keep readers intrigued and engaged.
Vasilia has been restless of late, knowing change is in the air, as is a growing sense of evil. In the midst of battle, she meets her fated life mate. Even though she’s known she holds a man’s soul in her keeping, her other half, she’s not quite prepared when it finally goes down and she meets Siv. As for Siv, he’s battled the vampire for so long and his honor is greatly tested, even as he’s contemplating walking into the sun, he can suddenly see in colors and feel emotions. Despite being an ancient, he realizes he needs to adapt to modern times and forge a true partnership with his life mate, if he wants love and not just a duty-bound relationship.
The two are called upon to battle demons, as well as vampires and the evil mages, and the sons of Xavier play a role here as they seek to destroy the Lycans from the inside out. This is an intense and dark book as we get to visit the hell realm or the underground and battle demons, as well as master vampires. Skyler, Dimitri, Ivory, and Razvan all make cameo appearances, as do their wolves. While there is sensual promise and eroticism is this book, there is a lot of action and battle, which I enjoyed as opposed to page after page of sex scenes between the protagonists.
There are some of the usual elements from other Carpathian books, but, by and large, the story feels fresh and new if a bit of dark. I can’t wait to see how the other ancients who accompanied Siv fare in their search for their life mates.
Grade: A
Summary:
Vasilisa Sidkorolyavolkva is a Lycan of royal blood. She knows what is expected of her, but all she wants is to be out from under her family’s watchful eyes. There is a fire inside her that is building. A restlessness coupled with a sense of growing dread. Every day she feels the weight of the legacy passed down through generations. The prophecy that says a man will come to claim her as his mate, and that she will guard his soul. She knows nothing about him except that he is hers. But nothing seems real until the night she meets him in the flesh….
Afanasiv Belan is a Carpathian, an ancient one. In all the centuries of his existence, no one has ever affected him like Vasilisa. He can see into her mind and feel what is in her heart. They are so alike, warriors bound by honor and plagued by secrets. They both know they must reveal the darkest parts of their souls if they hope to survive and protect the ones they love.
But if they claim each other as lifemates, it will change them down to the bone. They will become something more—something feared by both of their kinds….
For someone who has stopped reading these a long while back, which do you recommend to read to catch up to understand what’s happening here. I think I stopped at Dark Possession. Any suggestions to which are key to understand what’s going on?